After making a run to the state semifinals a year ago, the Northampton girls basketball team is once again in the mix for a Final Four berth.

Ninth-seeded Northampton was in control for most of its MIAA Division 2 Round of 16 game Tuesday night on the road at No. 9 Westwood. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed from there, ultimately securing a tidy 53-39 victory to book a spot in the state quarterfinals.

Northampton will play the winner of Wednesday’s Round of 16 game between No. 1 Medfield and No. 17 Bishop Fenwick.

“We made a great run last year and all these kids played, so I don’t think the moment is too big for them,” Northampton coach Perry Messer said. “You know what I say, seeds don’t mean [anything]. The game is played between the lines. I don’t care what your number is, you’ve still got to win the game. We had that mentality right from the start of the game tonight, and we attacked.”

Emme Calkins led the way offensively with 21 points, while Anna Oravec and Bri Heafey tossed in nine points apiece.

Northampton built a 25-9 lead thanks to a 13-0 run between the first and second quarters, and held a 29-16 halftime advantage. Westwood cut the deficit to 40-33 early in the fourth quarter, but Oravec sank a layup and Calkins followed with a straightaway 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 5:43 to go. The lead never dropped below 10 the rest of the way.

“They made a run on us to get it back within seven at one point, and got their crowd into the game,” Messer said. “But Emme made a big one for us to bring it back to 10, and then came down and buried another one which put them away. They had to foul a little bit and we made enough free throws.

“I think our defense was the biggest difference,” Messer added. “Our first-half defense was great. We held them to 16 in the first half. We knew they were going to make a run. They’re a really good 3-point shooting team, but we held them to only one 3 on the night. We shut them down outside, and that was huge for us.”

Boys basketball

Div. 2 Round of 16

No. 4 Oliver Ames 69, No. 13 Holyoke 47 – On the road against one of the top teams in the state, the Purple Knights saw their season come to an end Tuesday night.

The Tigers led 21-8 after one quarter and 38-18 at halftime to take control early.

Holyoke finished their season with a 16-5 overall record.

Oliver Ames advanced to the state quarterfinals where it will host No. 12 Plymouth South.

Div. 4 Round of 16

No. 6 Georgetown 82, No. 11 South Hadley 55 – Noah Hambley’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter showed the visiting Tigers meant business Tuesday night.

The sophomore guard drilled a fadeaway 3 just as the opening buzzer sounded, staking South Hadley to an 18-15 lead after eight minutes.

The Tigers battled even with host Georgetown into the locker room, as the two teams were tied 31-31 at halftime. But a huge third quarter from the Royals was more than enough to lift them into the state quarterfinals. Georgetown outscored South Hadley by a 26-13 margin in the third, and scored two quick buckets to open the fourth and force a Tigers timeout.

All told, Georgetown outscored the Tigers by a 51-24 margin in the second half en route to the decisive victory. 

Georgetown will travel to No. 3 Clinton in the state quarterfinals.